A Japanese X (formerly Twitter) user living in the U.S. recently shared a photo of "donuts only Japanese people would find utterly despair-inducing," and it quickly went viral.
Surprise or Shock? The Mystery of the Green Donut
The user, @girlmeetsNG (Yoshiaki Yamaguchi), often shares his cultural observations from living abroad. This time, he encountered a box of "special edition" donuts at a company meeting. To his initial delight, all the donuts were a deep green, leading him to believe they were matcha flavored. However, upon asking, he discovered the truth: these donuts were merely dyed green to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, and their flavor was still the classic original glazed Krispy Kreme.
St. Patrick's Day: When the World Goes Green
Saint Patrick's Day, celebrated annually on March 17th, is a major Irish holiday. On this day, not only are streets adorned with green decorations, but many businesses also roll out limited-edition green products, from beverages and desserts to even green burgers. For Americans familiar with the holiday, seeing green donuts is perfectly normal. But for Japanese people, who instinctively associate the color green with matcha, this scene was a delightful (or perhaps horrifying) cultural shock. 
"Not Matcha? That's Pure Despair!" Netizens React
The post resonated deeply with many Japanese netizens, who flooded the comments with hilarious reactions: "I automatically assumed it was matcha when I saw that color," "This is more shocking than I imagined," "Not matcha, not even pistachio?!" and "The color when I cut it open made me cry."
Yamaguchi later shared photos from inside the donut shop, showing shelves brimming with vibrant green donuts. He couldn't help but quip, "If this were a 'Matcha Dessert Festival,' it wouldn't be so bad..."